Pontian, Johor

Pontian, Johor (15 September, 2016)


Pontian (GPS: 1.48873, 103.38843) is a town on the southwestern part of Johor. There are in fact two towns by that name, Pontian Kechil and Pontian Besar to the north of it. In general, Pontian refers to Pontian Kechil, which is the administrative centre for Pontian District. Both towns are named after the rivers that flow through them, Sungai Pontian Kechil and Sungai Pontian Besar.

The area that is today Pontian was settled by Malay, Bugis and Javanese settlers. According to the Kesultanan Johor blog, in the past, the area was known as Kukup or Kukub, after the town that is today part of Pontian District.¹ The name Pontian itself is said to have been a corruption of "Perhentian". It refers to pirate hideouts in the estuaries of the two rivers. During bad weather, ships would enter the estuaries to seek shelter, and there, they would be ambushed by the pirates.

The main road through Pontian District is called Jalan Alsagoff. Now part of Federal Route 5, this road was named after Tuan Syed Muhamad Alsagoff, an Arab merchant from Singapore who arrived in the area in 1878 and developed it for agriculture.

Map of Pontian, Johor

Sights in Pontian

Small towns in Pontian

Sights near Pontian

Federal Route 5, known here as Jalan Alsagoff, is the main road in Pontian Kechil. (10 September, 2016)

360° View of Pontian on Google Maps Street View

Going to Pontian

From Johor Bahru, take the Skudai-Pontian Highway to Pontian. The distance is about 60 km and should be covered in slightly over an hour.

Pontian is on the Map of Johor

References

1. Sejarah Daerah Pontian - Penghujung Benua Asia

Back to Johor mainpage; List of Towns in Johor and Towns in Malaysia

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